


Roomies

by cypherd



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Soriel, neutral run spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 23:05:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6133243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cypherd/pseuds/cypherd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A piece set during a Neutral run where Undyne is in charge and Sans, Papyrus and Toriel are at odds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roomies

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting this because I'm not happy with it. I'd love some thoughts and feelings.

The light hadn't entirely faded from Sans' eye sockets as he said his final farewells into the ether, but they fixated firmly on a wall scuff as he lowered the phone from his ear.  He stared forward for a good long while - in reality not much more than a minute, but even to his timeline-addled mind it seemed an eternity.  Beside him, Toriel remained silent with her breathing deep and even, hands clasped over the book in the same position she’d fallen asleep in reading before bed.  If she was faking anything, she was doing a remarkable job.

 

If Sans' had had breath to hold, he would have let out a rather long one.

 

Sliding the silent and dark phone between the bed and the wall, he rolled onto his side, leaning his head  on the pillow he used so his boney form wouldn't jab Toriel while they rested. Or, these days, she rested and he picked at the stash of midnight snacks he kept where the phone was now, down the left side of the bed. It was something of a miracle they didn’t have ants, but he suspected Toriel cleaned and chose to let him have his secrets.

 

He wasn't sure what their relationship was at this point.  He wasn't sure what their relationship had ever been. They shared a home, but also a bedroom. Her ex-husband was dead, but he had also been their monarch and that clearly wasn’t something one just set aside. They found excuses to cuddle and called each other by affectionate epithets yet had set no formal title outside of roommate.  They certainly didn't behave like any roommates he’d ever had. Then again, his only roommate had been Papyrus and his brother might be all for the hugs, but surely would have had a few things to say if he’d suddenly clambered into bed to stroke his thighs and hips while calling him ‘darling’.

 

As a matter of fact, his brother these days might have had more than a few things to say about affection, hip-stroking aside.   

 

Papyrus was officially part of the Royal Guard now, Undyne was a good leader but significantly more of a war-monger than Asgore had ever been, even according to Toriel during the time when he’d decided the best way of dealing with his losses was becoming a god and putting an end to the human race.  Papyrus had gotten in line behind Undyne, though they kept a room for him in the Ruins.

 

Sure a good chunk of where Papyrus hung his hat these days had to do with the fact that in his books she’d finally done right by him, he was not just a Guard, he was ostensibly ‘Captain of the Royal Guard’. This said, she still more or less relegated his duties to him just standing around and posing heroically. She knew as well as Sans did that explaining the full extent of things would lead to god knows what. He had already taken Alphys' death pretty hard and as far as he (and most other Monsters to be fair) believed it had been a tragic accident as opposed to having been by her own hand.  After that it had been decided that Asgore and Mettaton were on a very extended vacation.  He and Undyne were friendly, but they'd never quite seen eye to eye on Papyrus and Sans wondered when the other shoe would drop.

 

At the end of the day, Sans was aware that his brother was never going to be happy with a nice quiet, life of evenings in and reading by the fire.  He wanted the excitement that Undyne could provide, but he feared in many ways, he'd ruined his sibling by refusing to be up front and honest about him with regards to the reality fo the world they lived in.  

 

Sans settled himself more firmly against the pillow buffer, leeching Toriel's warmth through it and reading the jacket of the book.  It was one of Papyrus' favourites actually, a marked up copy of some old human play.  All the books that were rescued from the dump were like that - the text ones that was - usually had highlighted passages and generally illegible notes in the margins that  had been ruined by the dump. The picture-books were counted as History as no one had defaced them and therefore they must be important. Sans didn't agree with the logic but saw no need to argue the point.

 

To anyone who knew Papyrus but didn't actively spend a lot of time around him, they'd probably be shocked by the content of the story. Papyrus simply concluded that humans had an incredible imagination - after all, two brothers who fought to the point where one killed the other? Inconceivable.

 

Yet, while he had the nightmares, Papyrus was the one who had problems falling asleep. Focusing on something - anything else was one of the few things that cut through his insomniac tendencies and so Sans read him bedtime stories diligently every night.

 

***

 

After last night, Sans slept in , finding himself alone both in bed and the house when he awoke from a good few hours of late but uninterrupted sleep. Toriel had left him breakfast,  and some gold for Grillby's.   He put it into his pocket but found himself in a rather good mood all things considered which left him heading towards Papyrus' house first.  It was cold and dusty inside - not the ash-like Monster remains dust, but the kind of fluffy grey buildup accumulated by neglecting housework.  it made sense, Papyrus was almost always in the palace or on patrol, but it certainly gave him chills. The only other time their house had ever looked this way was when....well.

Swiftly, Sans ascended the stairs, popped into his room to grab a few more changes of clothes and a notebook from his desk, passed through Papyrus' room to take a few things from his closet as well and neutralized the putrid smell in the fridge that even he couldn't ignore. He paused and retrieved  a mug Papyrus had made him for Christmas when he was very young, wrapping it up in his socks.  The junk mail from both their boxes went on top of the rotten food and he left it there to be hauled to the dump.   Then, it was off to the library to pick out some new books for Toriel. She liked books with facts, but this time he chose ones all with stories. - they weren't really for her anyway.

 

It was with a real relief that he finally dropped into his usual seat at Grillby's, waving the bartender away in a mutually defined gesture for 'my usual please, I don't want to talk' and promptly engrossed himself in his cellphone, clumsily feeding himself with his right hand when the food arrived while he tapped out a message on his phone to Papyrus. He really wanted his brother to come over for dinner today.  

 

He didn't get a reply, but he was holding out hope.  

 

When he arrived back in the house, he brought a wave of Snowdin  chill with him.  Toriel peeked out of the kitchen while he toed off his boots and stepped back into his house slippers.  He had to wonder if she even realized that he never used the door.  

 

"Sans! Right on time for dinner, I see."

 

""Hey, you know me. I wouldn't miss a meal if the world was ending."

 

Toriel laughed.

 

He wasn't making a joke. It was practically a confirmed fact but she had no idea that was the case and he laughed along.

 

"Well don't just stand there lurking in doorways!" Toriel swapped her mixing bowl to her other arm and tugged him more rapidly down the hall. her expression slightly giddy.  "We have COMPANY!"

 

The sight was at once welcome and extremely jarring.

 

Papyrus was sat on the edge of the couch, practically vibrating in his seat. It apparently had taken all of his concentration not to spoil what was evidently meant to be a surprise. Sans had about a second to collect himself when all of a sudden his brother had launched off the sofa and barreled towards him for a crushing hug.  This would have been  perfectly normal, save for the fact that he was wearing full plate armor.  It looked just like Undyne's. and Sans wondered if it was hers and his brother had grown without him noticing or whether it had been made new or even magically altered.

 

Fortunately, in the wake of the surprise, there seemed to be no animosity between Toriel and Papyrus. As he suspected, Toriel had no particular interest in sticking her nose into how he chose to raise his brother though he thought he caught the ghost of a grimace on her face when she turned away.

 

Papyrus stood, a genuinely excited grin that was reflected in his eye sockets plastered across his long mug.  "I GOT YOUR MESSAGE AND THOUGHT: MY BROTHER IS PROBABLY DALLYING AT GRILLBY'S SO I WILL COME EARLY AND GIVE HIM AN AMAZING SURPRISE!"  He started into an almost formal bow but caught himself and salvaged  things but passing it off as bending forward for a hug.  

 

"Well I'm always happy to see my favourite brother." Sans agreeably ignored  the bow as well, leaning up in turn for the hug, even as Papyrus groaned. "I'm YOUR ONLY BROTHER, SANS."

 

Sans wrapped his arms around him as tightly as he could, ignoring the bulk of in the way metal.  

"Dinnertime boys,..." Toriel's head poked out from the kitchen once more with one hand visible behind her casually directing a charge of fire magic to warm the last of what was already smelling delicious.

 

The brothers dutifully took seats at the dining room table, but Papyrus gave a curious glance around, as though looking for something. He noticed Sans' inquiring stare.

 

"OH! IN HOTLAND, THIS IS WHEN UNDYNE AND I WATCH ANIM....E. NYEH."

 

Fortunately Toriel was not here and Papyrus seemed to recognize his error as he clammed up for a bit.  Sans' thoughts were drawn inexorably back to his train of thought from last night. How much did Papyrus really  know about his abilities or what had actually happened to Alphys? He knew his brother wasn't stupid, but that had been back when there had been resets  mere days or minutes after the human left.  He'd kept his brother deliberately in the dark, knowing that whether or not he died, was told exactly what was going on or believed humans were going on vacation when they met Asgore meant nothing at all.  

 

Even after enduring many timelines and  after all this time, even living with a former monarch did Sans believe that he would be the sort of individual whose mealtimes would be delicately interspersed with politics.  Fortunately Papyrus was on guard since his earlier non-fatal snafu and Toriel had experience.

 

"What is new in Hotland?" she asked, reasonably.

 

"Well, " Papyrus began. "Nabstablookhas been running the entertainment industry while Mettaton is On Vacation. Playing his music on a radio station. He doesn't do it as often, but he's trying to keep people entertained in his cousin's absence."

 

Sans took a particularly large bite of snail and potato casserole.  Was it just him or did Papyrus sound sarcastic when he said that?

 

It was impossible to tell, really.

 

"Oh and Monster Kid hangs around the Palace all the time. He wants to join the Royal Guard Someday. " Papyrus puffed out his chest in pride. This time no one questioned the topic. Papyrus' delight was too well-deserved.  

 

Sans was on a roller coaster's worth of emotion but he didn't really mind.  "Looks like you're pretty popular there bro."

 

“Well, you know.”

 

“'Course I do. Hey. I brought home that book you enjoy so much for Toriel." Sans informed Papyrus.

 

His master plan to get his brother to stick around longer was well underway.   

 

"C'mon Tori, my bro was tellin' me earlier how he usually gets to watch tv with his meals. Wouldn't a book be better entertainment?

 

Sans wasn't sure if he'd just executed a daring master plan or whether he'd  simply enabled something wherein the other two were humouring him.  When Papyrus wanted something he could be awfully crafty in getting his way, so it was hard to gauge what, if anything he'd accomplished or whether he'd been played for a bit of a fool himself.

 

Whatever the situation, he found himself doing the very thing he'd scoffed at the idea of last night, drowsing to sleep, snuggled up against his brother's side.

 

Sure, snuggling was relative, as his brother apparently wore his armour to bed - or at least was tired enough that he showed no interest in taking it off, but nonetheless, Sans was more comfortable than he had been in a long time.


End file.
